Disclaimer: This is very long, and probably a bit disjointed. What you are about to read was written over the time of four days, and frankly, I stopped trying to make it perfect, proper or professional. I just started rambling, and hopefully you like reading about the memories that came out of seeing Seether and Papa Roach. This is the full story, for the most part.

Despite the fact that I did write a recap of the show I went to at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida, I honestly was far too vague for even my own liking. Frankly, I think by the time I got the draft that you guys saw online, I was far too exhausted and slightly brain dead to be diplomatic and explanatory all in one article.

I stated that I didn't like the Hard Rock Live, and expressed my gratitude for Papa Roach and Seether's performances, but I didn't explain anything. That fact bothers me a bit, because not only are the bands slightly aware of what I said this time around, but I always tell you guys everything or vlog! You -the people reading this right now- are the reason I get these incredibly unique experiences and telling you all about it or filming it all are the only ways I can share it with you! I can't actually bring everyone with me, but what I normally do is damn close. This time, I didn't film anything. I had my 'vlogging' camera with me, but never pulled it out, partly out of respect for my mother, who is not comfortable being in front of the camera. The other part, the bigger part, was simply because I was trying to enjoy it. I've gotten out of filming for YouTube recently, and back into writing. I didn't want to vlog about it, I wanted to write about it! And if it was filmed, there was very little point in writing about it, because most people would rather watch a video over reading a long post.

Luckily, a lot of people do still read, and for that I thank you greatly. If you have been around for a while, you know that my show recaps are rarely normal. They jump all over the place,but you still get the full story, for the most part. I felt the post I previously did about this show was simply inadequate, so now you're getting a better one. Now that I've explained why I feel compelled to write a second review of the same show, when I normally just write one, share the pictures, and that's that, I will begin telling you everything. This is still going to be different, just like the first one, because what I said still stands. I went to this show as a fan first and a journalist second. Because of that, I went a bit deeper with this one, I think. Rather than just telling the journalism side of things, I talked about the emotional rollercoaster too. This show had a lot of up's and a lot of down's too. In the moment, it felt like there were more down's than anything, but in retrospect, that's not true. It was an adventure, and while it was stressful, it was a great one that I am still honored I got to have. If you read the first blog, you will be getting some of the information over again because this time I'm telling it all. Feel free to skim over what you have already read, I won't be offended. I just wanted to get it all out, like I usually do. I honestly feel like I owe it to myself, you guys, and the bands to do it the right way.

The day this tour with Seether and Papa Roach was announced, I decided my mother and I had to go. Seether is one of her favorite bands, and Papa Roach is one of mine. She had missed seeing Seether a couple of times, and I had missed Papa Roach a handful of times as well. I was determined this time, we were not going to miss it. It was sort of fate, actually, because the day the tickets went on sale, I got paid and had work. I work in a mall, and there is a Ticketmaster kiosk right down the hallway from my job. As soon as I got out of work that day, I went right to that Kiosk and purchased two general admission tickets. My mom still to this day claims I'm the 'best daughter in the world' for buying her a ticket, and calling it a Christmas present. I've argued that many times, simply because I wanted to go too, and if she had a ticket, I had a guarenteed way there. When it came down to it though, and I had my mom hugging me and thanking me again for buying her the ticket, with tears in her eyes as Seether played "Broken", I'll admit, I felt pretty great right then. I don't think I ever saw my mom so happy in my entire life. She later told me that she cried during Seether's first song, just because she was finally seeing them. Neither one of us can tell you what song they opened with, she was emotional and just happy to be seeing them, and right then, I was stressed out and upset with a really bad headache.

The reason for my mood at that moment actually stemed off of several things. When we got parked, we were parked on the roof of a five story parking garage, which is nothing to some people. I, however, was born with a massive fear of heights that I have only recently been able to slightly deal with. Six to ten foot ladders only make me slightly weak at the knees now, but being higher up than the tree tops? That was too much for me to handle. At first, I thought I would be okay, as long as I didn't go near the edge. Well, apparently I overestimated myself. Getting back down to the ground seemed to take an eternity, and I did not even get five feet from our car without bursting into tears. Something interesting happened though, and it was just ironicly perfect timing. Just as the car was put in park, my iPod started playing, "Scars", by Papa Roach. That just so happens to be my favorite song, and it was the main song I was looking forward to seeing that night. It was like my iPod knew exactly what was going on, and how to fix it. Admittedly, in an attempt to keep myself calm, I probably restarted that song five or six different times before we got back on the ground. The song did sort of help though! Between blasting it in my ear as we walked and reminding myself over and over that I was there partly to finally see that song played live, it kept my feet moving and me from being a full blown puddle of tears on the floor.

On top of that, my photo pass was late to the venue, and that scared me. I thought I was going to get last minute screwed over, and having just relaxed from the whole parking garage terror, I was slightly emotionally unstable. I stood by the Will Call just waiting for the passes to get there, and couldn't decide whether I was more worried or mad at that moment. Then a friend of mine sent me a screenshot of a Tweet she posted on the Immortal Music Twitter account. The Tweet just stated that I was excited to finally see Papa Roach, and they had Tweeted it. That made me feel better in the moment, and just moments later, the pass showed up. All was good again.

Fast forward to when we got into the Hard Rock itself. The first impression, initially was wonderful! It was smaller than I thought, and personally, I love small venues. You feel connected to the band everywhere in them, and they're just great. That being said, the Hard Rock Live in Orlando needs to learn a thing or two about hosting a concert.

My only real disappointment was the venue. Their sound system for the first two bands was awful, so were their lighting. I can't help but feel like they had their sound boards set wrong on purpose, just to make the other two bands look better. That's not fair in the slightest. Never before had I ever actually felt bad for the bands performing before, but I felt bad for Islander and Kyng. Thanks to the Hard Rock doing them a major injustice by making them only sound good to the front row or so, and making sure to use the evil red light so very few photographs could turn out properly, both bands were probably cost many new fans that night. That's a shame.

Between that, and the fact that they seemed to only care about serving alchohol to those who were far past their cut off point, you could tell they didn't really believe that "Music is life", like their employees shirts said. They just wanted to make money. That's honestly shameful, if you ask me. That being said, from what I could hear of Islander and Kyng, they were very talented bands. I am still getting familar with both bands music, so I don't have a full opinion formed yet but live, they are good. Had they had proper sound people to back them up, they probably would have been great. Islander, honestly is a perfect match for Papa Roach. I decided that in the car on the way up to the show as I listened to their album. They just compliment their sound perfectly.

Kyng, while great, seemed a bit heavier for this tour! They did compliment the other two bands very well though, they just were definitely heavier than the rest. That can be a good thing though, that just makes them stand out from the rest. I already told the best part of Seether's performance -and its going to sound so fake, but it was honestly just how happy they made my mom. I enjoyed their set, don't get me wrong, but honestly, that was the best part. They did make me very happy as well. Thus brings me to the moment I started to tell you about before hand! As I said, I was not in a good mood when they got on stage. At that point, I was convinced that the lights were going to stay awful, and so would the sound. I walked up in front of the barricade wiping tears from my face, because I was just that fed up right then. I actually had said to my mom if we hadn't driven four hours for two reasons that hadn't taken the stage yet, I'd just want to go home. Obviously, we didn't leave, and I'm glad I stayed now, but that was how I felt about it in the moment.

Their set was great though, and they helped turn my mood around a lot. They were using the same red light that had been used all night, and that did not ease the concerns I had. Then about half way through their first song, they stopped using it and suddenly, the pictures were turning out! Thanks to that, I got some of the best pictures I have ever taken during their set. I am extremely proud of the pictures I got that night, and it meant the world to me to have that pass.

By the time Papa Roach took the stage, I was in a great mood and was finally feeling the excitement again. As I was standing in front of the barricade, talking with other sleepy press people, and people on the barricade, a lady suggested that I take a 'selfie' with the crowd. I declined at first, because I normally don't do such things, but she said it'd be really cool, and it got me thinking. I always think pictures like that are cool when bands take pictures like that from the stage, with the crowd behind them, and I was capable to do that. Security wasn't even protesting, and they were hearing this whole conversation that did involve me standing on the barricade step. So, I decided not to pass up the chance and took the picture. I must say, I'm glad she talked me into it. Its a great memory, and for a moment there, I felt like a 'rockstar', even though I'm far from one.

And then, the lights got cut and the crowd erupted as the band started to come out. Nothing else mattered then! They came out playing, "Face Everything And Rise", and for the first time in a very long time, almost every person in front of that barricade, were singing along. That's rare! Most of the time, they either are too focused on taking pictures to sing along, or just are not into the band at all. Same goes for security! This almost always happens and I always seem to be the only one, or one of the only ones in front of the barricade singing along. It was refreshing hearing so many people singing a song that has grown to be one of my favorites. Plus, I was just geiunely happy to finally be experiencing a Papa Roach concert. I don't want to give away their set list, but I will say that I knew every song they played. Both Seether and Papa Roach played a good mix of their entire discographies, so chances are everyone who goes will not be disappointed in the set list over all. I certainly was not.

The best part of Papa Roach's set for me though, was "Scars." I had worked my way as close to the barricade as I could get, and when it came on, all I could think of was singing along and trying to see right where I was. I wasn't planning on trying to get closer or anything, just was standing on my tiptoes and trying to crane my neck around people. My mom tapped a guy that was next to us on the shoulder and explained what the song meant to me, and motioned to my forearm, where my tattoo referencing the song is and asked if I could get in front of him so I could see better just for this song. He said yes, and let me in front of him, and seeing that live was everything I hoped it would be.

Everyone has songs that speak to them, and just seem to define them. For me -that is "Scars", and this was my first time ever experiencing it live. After the stress from the day, this was what I had waited for. As I was standing there screaming every lyric back at Jacoby, with my eyes going back and forth between him and their guitarist, Jerry Horton, tears were forming in my eyes. On some level, I almost feel weird admitting that, because it sounds like a 'fangirl', but its not that. That's just the power of music. About half way through the song, the dams broke and I honestly was that person in the crowd that was screaming lyrics with everything they had, with tears streaming down their face. The guy that was standing with us had somehow ended up back next to me, and I saw him look over at me with this very understanding smile on his face. The entire time, I heard him belting it out just as much as I was, and it made me wonder -does that song mean a lot to him too? Either way, he seemed to understand the power of music right there.

This was an unforgettably crazy night, that I am so glad I finally got to talk about. As I said, I have been trying to get this out the right way for a few days now, and I finally did it. I'm sorry if it didn't make sense, or if it was dysjointed, but this was the only way I could do this. Thank you again to all the bands for being amazing, my mom for driving me to the show, and Seether's press person for helping me with everything. The biggest thank you really does go to Seether, because I meant what I said -I had never seen my mom so happy before, except during their set.